The Most Kyute Thing In The World
by Dithyrambs of The Antipodes
Summary: Sekai Saionji transfers to a new school, where the Hinimazawa club is having plenty of fun. Over time however she falls in love with one of its members, Rena Ryuugu...
1. Chapter 1

"What's the matter, afraid you'll lose your harem? Fretting about the loss of those old nighttime dinner deliveries~?" – Mion had a sly smile; Keiichi, for his part, kept his frown – and his eyes on the bucket. Rika, being the fine young daughter she was, had been doing some work at the family shrine – "just preparing for the human sacrifice", she had joked, though curiously enough she hadn't laughed along with Keiichi – and now, for her hard toil, what awaited her? In the bucket, above the door, anything could lie in wait; - and Keiichi went through all the possible scenarios.

Nails? Too harsh even for Satoko; normally Keiichi was her target of choice after all; so that this trap had to be simply an exploitation of the situation – that evil hearted Satoko! Before he had begged her to help him buy a new baseball bat for practice, but she had insisted that she had "already spent her allowance". Even now she had the sweetest smile on her face; a false smile! But returning to the bucket, Keiichi thought, perhaps it was something annoying but harmless, like water-based paint.

Well, if that was the case there was no reason to worry; and so Keiichi joined Mion and Rena, who were still discussing the new arrival.

"Oh, spending more time with us, are you? Trying to make sure you remain the one boy in our group? But Keiichi, we'll be the judge of that!" Rena, of course was mostly just blushing whenever Mion began any more… tempting descriptions of what she was expecting. Keiichi, like mainly other visual novel protagonists are wont to do, began to zone out; - footsteps were approaching. It was of course well before class; as today they had began club activities early, before school, to continue yesterday's hard fought game. Rena still had the scars, and the penalty… was too horrible to mention. Still, like the good soldier she was, she, well, soldiered through. Keiichi had never been too adept at metaphors. Of course, she had blushed when she first put on the extra layers and been covered head to toe in cold water with the school hose. But all is fair in love and war; especially when the class representative has a love for war.

But though Keiichi, at least for one, was appreciating that memory, soon the increasing volume of the footsteps forced everyone's attention; Satoko was rocking in anticipation; Keiichi slowly breathed out, "I'm sorry, Rik—"

Just then the door opened; and out of the bucket-!

What was this? Flowers, sakura blossoms? And nobody had noticed the little wire that led to the record player, which let out it's crackling just as the door stopped screeching.

"Happpy biirrthhday to yuoooouuu", and, for the second stanza, Satoko joined in. Her usually devious smile seemed transformed into the very definition of selfless giving; and in a second, Keiichi understood where Satoko had spent her allowance.

Before they continued too far, Keiichi's quick thinking dragged his hands to his bag, where he had a hankerchef and sure enough…

"AWWWWW… that was shooo kyuutttee of you, Satoko~~~" Thus began the nosebleed. It was true, of course, that kyute mode Rena could lose any amount of blood and survive, due to the nature of the preternatural power of kyute-ness; but manners, after all, were manners. He handed it to her.

"Th-thanks, Keiichi-kun!" – she blushed, of course – and began to capture the majority of what had been unleashed.

Meanwhile, Rika and Satoko were playing. Rika was calmly and serenely smiling at the effervescent Satoko.

"Wasn't it… sho kyute of her… to put her powers to good use?"

"It certainly was – if only her play today had been as well-planned, she would have avoided facing the secondary penalty" – Rika, to her credit, avoided mentioning the texta markings on Satoko's shirt.

A car, meanwhile, approached.

"Ohhhh, I bet it's that new student, the boy!", Mion ejaculated on her way to the window. Rena, Keiichi, and the two lolicons also made their way.

It wasn't a boy at all, but rather, a girl, Sekai, newly transferred after being implicated in a bad PR scene in another school. Her friend Matoko had, it seems, taken his girlfriend, and Sekai's friend, to see Fighting Nemo, the top ten splash movie hit of the year. But the train crashed and they both died. The minister for transport, however, had sent more bribes in to head office than the minister for education, and so, sadly, education took the hit. Sekai was the scapegoat, and banished to the provinces. As for the confusion of her gender; that was also a part of the plan. She had been given a male pseudonym and transported safely across the countryside behind tinted glasses to avoid the legions of fans, for she was in fact the identical twin of a popular idol singer.

All this she would of course explain in time; for now, she walked up to Hinimazawa High School. For now, the speculation amongst the students continued. Keiichi, himself, had to leave early that day in order to help his father transport some artwork onto the car for transport to Tokyo. Polite, in this case, to an awkward fault, Rena, asked if he wanted his "things" back. Of course, he said he wasn't interested in her blood and she, realising her mistake, of course, blushed. Strangely, she seemed to still have the nosebleed; this was a longer duration than normal, but this Keiichi, being a dirty insensitive male, did not notice as he left.


	2. Chapter 2

A few weeks later, the class had settled down, Keiichi had added yet another member to his harem, and all was right in the world.

"Ok! Everyone, amazing game! Our first all-way tie! Of course, Keiichi only got here by cheating, but as we say in Hinimazawa, all is fair! We must try our hardest; remember the rules~~"

Mion's pleasure eventually manifested itself in a strange way.

"The penalty was to take a picture of yourself in a school swimsuit and leave it on the table of the principle…"

Everybody shivered at the thought of what had so narrowly been prevented…

"So we should take a picture of EVERYONE in the swimsuits!"

"Wh-what… Mion…" Keiichi was frightened

Rika rubbed his head and gently prodded Mion, "But it makes no sense for a class full of winners to all undergo a losers punishment…"

"You misunderstand! It's simply a show of solidarity. We are winners because of each other's help, after all, Rena, did you not show your cards to Sekai?" Rena blushed, of course.

"Then it's settled! Of course, we shan't show it to the principle, but we will get copies for everyone! The memories will last, even as love and war continue in the hallowed halls of the Hinimazawa School Club~~!"

Keiichi in particular seemed to like the idea of seeing all the girls in swimsuits, impure male that he was.

They all changed.

"Alright! Sekai, would you please grab that camera?" Sekai took the camera, which produced Polaroids, and took a few practice shots. Rena, instead of posing, of course blushed.

Everybody bundled up into the frame, as Sekai left it on the table and ran to join then before the timer went off. She just made it to Rena's side as the flash went; and it all went off splendidly.

"Ah! After this next game, I'll have to leave early", Rena, said blushing at her self-perceived impertinence; "I have to get started on getting it, and…"

"Ah! You mentioned it to me, before! The Kyutest thing in the World, right?" Mion was interrupted Rena.

"Yes…" Rena had been thinking about this kyute thing for some time now. In fact, if one said it was all she thought about they would have hardly have been too far off from the "heart of the matter" and indeed, she was planning to go to the old site, where she had gotten one of the most recent kyute things, Sanders, to get it. It was very nice there, after all, and -

The group had by this point more or less dispersed. Sekai kept her hands in her pockets and walked to her table. Keiichi started searching his pockets, for he was about to go off and buy a baseball bat for practise. Satoko was already designing her next trap – needless to say, a much less benign one than last time. Rika was diligently studying. Mion and Rena started discussing the thing; vague whispers of the word "kyute" were heard, but little more. Everyone being thus preoccupied, no one saw Sekai, back at her table, slowly pull one of the pictures of Rena out, and softly sigh, and say, "It's only a picture, but if I keep it for long enough, the charm might work…", and place the picture in her desk for later perusal.

"Well, why don't you get Keiichi to help?" Mion said to Rena, more loudly then before; she led the blushing (of course) girl to Keiichi's table. "See, he listens!" she said, "not like certain other boys who've appeared in vis—" She stopped.

"Ugh, M-mion", Rena said, somehow blushing twice over, "Keiichi-kun is asleep…"

Needless to say, Keiichi was in no shape to go to the shops later that day.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 4: Moeblob Madness

Rena thought to herself; she certainly needed to get a start on getting a hold of that kyute thing; just like Sanders could have been hauled off by anybody, somebody at any moment could get ideas and put their hands on _her_ kyute thing; which, simply, could not and would not do. The meaning of life was kyute. As far as help, Keiichi had to go to the clinic, Mion to the family shop, Rika and Satoko had curfews…

Meanwhile, Rena's thoughts about the kyute thing where not entirely unique. For Sekai also was thinking of what to her was certainly the most kyute thing in the word. And as she looked at this picture, she thought with a measure of anxiety, that it could never be the same. All her beloved Rena thought about her those darn "kyute things"!

Of course, it was a trait that came naturally to the adorable Rena, but would she never notice her senpai, perhaps, as well, and call her kyute? She hoped that they the charm would work.

"I hope this works, Rena: try the cleaver, my dad uses one for work; and it will be on the front porch of my house"

"Huh?" Rena seemed confused; Keiichi rustled her hair; she of course blushed.

"Silly, I mean use the cleaver to get the kyute thing!"

"O-oh, yes!" and Rena with a forceful enthusiasm – but stopped.

"Won't your father mind?"

"Nah, he's too busy off in the shop today to notice; just bring it back afterwards"

Well, thought Rena, all is fair in this sort of thing; but still-

"I… I'll need someone to come with me, you know"

Of course, everybody gave their excuses. It seemed indeed that nobody was truly in a position to give their aid to this most majestic labour of love. It seemed that Rena was waiting for something to happen; as so many excuses wafted towards her; a miracle. It was as if the very future of the kyute thing lay in the balance; if that aid was not given, then anything could happen—would the kyute get taken away and be forever outside her grasp?

"Don't get so filled with emotions", said Sekai, barely to contain her own, "it doesn't go well with your easy-going girl-next-door image; you know what the fans are like: but I suppose – " here she began to choose every word with even more particular conscious effort; and she also prevented her voice from cracking - "I can come and help you. I have nothing."

Why did Sekai have to make such fun of her love for the kyute thing? That was obviously hurtful. Perhaps Sekai would never understand what her love for kyute-ness meant, but at least this was something. If they, if she, tried her best, perhaps the kyute thing really wouldn't be lost!

"Thank you, Sekai! It's sho kyute, everybody likes it, you know, it has lots of fans!"… and so on.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 5: At The Site

So much energy spent on something so minor! It means so much to Rena, but it is just a Kyute thing is it not? Sekai thought about the picture. Rena had been smiling then; it was very kyute. What was that "kyute thing" anyway? She'd heard the horror stories about what she had brought in before. "Haooo~! Look at this Keiichi!" – At that moment the snake escaped from her grasp.

"It was in the grass, Keiichi… haoo~~"

After getting the antidote at the clinic, Keiichi had avoided Rena for a while. She blushed whenever she saw anything longer than it was wide, for a while.

It was time, she thought; as she followed Rena to the site, where "all kyute things are found", she thought about what to do. In truth she was steeling herself… confess, at all costs, confess! What if Rena were to find some boy or girl who she really thought was kyute? No… once had been enough for that! She must make her stand her, or let her dreams be drifted like cotton down the stream.

"R-…Rena"

"Yes! What is it, Sekaaaii~~?"

"I have to say something important. I hope you understand"

Rena had turned to her…

"…where is this kyute thing, exactly? This is a big place…"

"Ah! It's so very kyute… you'll know it when you see it; I know I did… haoooo~~… search over there…I think it's somewhere…" and she wandered off.

She pointed to a little pile of rubbish. Sekai walked over and every inhaled with each step. It had been very difficult to try, but at the last moment…! Well, if Rena couldn't remember where it was, it was probably going to be some time before they left… she had time, after all..!

There was a newspaper; the headline said "Dismemberment/Murder In Hinimazawa!" Sekai wondered if the villagers were really so old-fashioned. Dismemberment/Murder hadn't been big for almost ten years; so no wonder they were playing such small venues. Suddenly, though, she started to wonder whether she would make a good baseball playe—

"It's no good, Sekai! Haoo~~~… I don't think I'll ever find it now… I'm sure it's still here!"

"We should try again tomorrow"

"Yes… Haooooo~~ sho kyute…"

Rena agreed quickly and a little piece of Sekai's stomach regained balance. Another day meant another night to turn in her bed every time she gave up on another avenue on attack.

"Hey, have you guys seen Mion?"

"Keiichi? What's going on?"

"She put a needle in my mocha!.. what is she thinking…"

He showed them the "needle".

"Keiichi, this is actually a miniature baseball bat, to honour your first game since you've taken it up… haoo~~ shoo kyute of Mion…"

Keiichi, for once, blushed a little and went off. "Things are often not what they seem; you cannot know until you check for yourself! I don't care… Baseball bats aren't very edible, after all"

Chapter 6: Confession. The Beauty of Yuri Revealed

The next day Sekai went out to the site first, while Rena stayed back to discuss the situation with Mion.

"Haoo… I don't know… I think getting the kyute thing will be even harder than I expected…"

Rena looked a little downcast; after all, kyute is love, kyute is life. Ever since she had started getting up earlier, so that she could collect both Sekai and Keiichi on the way to school, Rena had been getting that way. Of course, the current kyute thing hadn't seemed to be slipping out of her hands then.

She realised that she might need a new cleaver, and they searched the whole school, as Mion's father's was no longer available. They didn't find any, of course, and though it was meant in jest, to Mion's mock-cold "what a waste of time you've cost the class president… perhaps a penalty is in order…~", she of course gave a blush. She had picked up a couple things from the desks, however, and she seemed to have cheered up as she went out. For some reason, she seemed to have renewed confidence in her ability to take the kyute thing home with her.

When Rena appeared at the site, it had begun to drizzle rain. Of course, there was no question of leaving; Rena was determined to acquire her kyute thing. Both women, of course, understood this implicitly. Awkwardly, Sekai went off to the pile, and began to search again.

Sekai thought of the Rena in the picture. She slowed down her breathing, and turned to face the orange-haired girl. What could she say… she had gone through all the possibilities, and –

"What is it, Sekai-chan~~", said Rena; she was smiling.

"Damn it! You spend all your time searching for some abandoned object around here because it's 'kyute'… won't you ever spare a thought for the others in your life? If you had only bothered to tear your eyes away from the wastebin, you would've seen how I felt! I… I –"

Rena took out the picture. "I've seen this, Sekai… I know how you feel. D-did you think the kyute thing I wanted was some object?"

"O-of course it is… what else could it be?" – mercilessly Rena smiled at her from the picture.

"Silly billy! I brought you out here just for privacy! The truth is… I brought you out here to confess to you… Sekai… When I spoke of trying to get the 'most kyute thing in the world', I meant you! I-I love you Sekai!"

They kissed and it was beautiful. That night, Rena Ryuugu finally got to take the most kyute thing in the world home.


End file.
